Monday, July 30, 2012

I was on Pinterest the other morning and saw a post of Cake Batter Fudge... being in love with cake, I had to take a look. It boasted being easy and quick, and I thought, even better... I never got around to making it that morning, but when I went to my friends house for a little girls night, we needed a quick dessert, and luckily she had all the ingredients.

It didn't go so well... when I say epic fail, I mean, EPIC... it went in the trash!! I don't take dessert defeat well, so I vowed to try it again.

The hubby had the guys over tonight, and after I made them a Crock-pot Lasagna and garlic bread, I took a stab at the fudge again! I made some modifications, and I must say, we have a winner!!

The pan I used was too thin, but maybe not, because it was REALLY sweet... But it only took a few minutes to put together and an hour to chill...and you make it in the MICROWAVE!!! I edited the recipe... so it's mine now! haha... I doubled the cake mix and lessened the butter!! Here you go!

Mix the cake mix and sugar in a microwave safe bowl until combined. Put butter in the center and pour milk on top. Put in the microwave for 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir until thick and combined. Add Sprinkles, but don't over mix, the color will bleed.
Pour into greased pan, and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour... or more... Take it out, cut in squares and feed to hungry men!! haha... save some for yourself too!

Sunday, July 22, 2012

I am a regular pinner over on Pinterest, as some of you may already know. I have a board called Food Bucket List, and I am doing my best to achieve it all! Though I have pinned so many recipes, it might be an impossible feat... REGARDLESS, I will show what I can accomplish!

I was having some ladies over for a girls night, and decided I needed to try the Avalanche Bars... They are no bake, so I say, even better on a hot summer day!! They are so easy to make, and SOOOO good... IF, you like white chocolate and peanut butter... (in my opinion, how could you not?)

I will include the recipe below, but here are some photos of the steps.

First, you melt a bag of white chocolate chips and then mix in a quarter cup of peanut till its all blended and smooth (and yummy)

Then you add your 3 cups of rice krispies (or if you are me and did it backwards with bowl sizes, you add your mixture to your rice krispies! hehe) and stir... the white chocolate mixture might still be warm, so you have let it sit a little, stirring occasionally so that it doesn't stick totally yet. When it's cool enough you add your mini marshmallows and mini chocolate chips.

Once everything looks good and combined, you pour it all into your greased pan, and pat the mixture down with the back of the spoon... be careful not to press too much, you don't to make your treats too hard.

Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top, and set aside to, well, set! and Viola you have Avalanche Bars...

Yummy, Avalanche Bars... there were only 4 left, and I had to get them out of the house so I didn't eat the rest by myself, so I brought them to work, and they were devoured there! They are super quick and easy to make, you'd be missing out if you didn't give them a shot!

Recipe:

Ingredients

12 oz bag of White Chocolate Chips

1/4 cup peanut butter

3 cups Rice Krispies

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (plus some extra to sprinkle on top)

Prep

Lightly grease a 9x9 pan

In a microwave safe bowl, melt white chocolate chips at 50% power for 1 minute, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, until melted.

Stir in peanut butter, and mix until blended and smooth

Add Rice Krispies

Let cool 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally

Add marshmallows and mini chocolate chips, stir to combine

Pour mixture into prepared pan, and press down (not too much)

Sprinkle mini chips on top, lightly pressing them in

Leave to set, cut into squares when ready to serve, and enjoy the yummy goodness that is an Avalanche Bar!!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

My dear friend Nicole called me up last night to invite John and I out for burgers. We gladly accepted and went to Poppy's, a local little burger place in Beacon that makes fresh, grass fed beef burgers to order. On the way back to her house she told us that she wanted to make a Peach and Raspberry Galette that she saw a recipe for. Being a baker I couldn't just sit back and watch, so she gladly let me help!

A Galette is a term used in French cuisine for a flat, crusty cake... for our purposes it was a flat fruit pie! We peeled and sliced 4 peaches, both white and regular, added a little less than a 1/2 pint of raspberries, and tossed them gently with sugar and corn starch. We used pre-made pie crust, which I think is just wonderful... it's tasty and convenient. I save the pie crust from scratch for the holidays!! We laid out the pie crust and circled the peaches around the center on top, putting the raspberries in sporadically... We decided to add a little sprinkle of cinnamon to the top. We folded the edges up and around the fruit filling, and with a little egg white wash, basted the sides. Cut some butter along the top and baked at 425 degrees...

Nicole got a little impatient, but I assured her to let it bake at least 40 minutes... It smelled great and when it was all set and ready, we cut into still hot because we couldn't wait to dive in!

It was so super yummy with just the right amount of sweetness! I will definitely make more of these... using all different kinds of fruit! Feel free to attempt the Galette... our recipe is below!

Crust - just use Pillsbury!
Filling:
4-5 peaches peeled and sliced
1/2 pint of raspberries (or less if preferred)
3 Tbsp of Corn Starch
3/4 Cups of Sugar
Gently toss fruit in sugar and starch mixture. Arrange on pie crust in the center, allowing space to fold up crust over edges of the fruit. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Lightly brush egg white wash on crust. Top Fruit with slices of butter. Bake at 425 degrees for 40-50 minutes until golden brown!

Friday, July 6, 2012

I have been gone for far too long!!! I do apologize... but I am back with my summer kick-off staple! BLUEBERRY PIE!!!!

I know its already July... does it count as a summer kick-off? Well it does for me... I was busy getting married and travelling Ireland on honeymoon!!

So I have been pinning amazing recipes on Pinterest, and have vowed to make something once a week... I know this will inevitably turn out to be once every other week, or something like that, but we can try!!!

It was 4th of July, and it wouldn't be 4th of July without my Blueberry Pie... so I ran out, got the BEST ripe blueberries I could find, and I turned out a pie in just an hour! GO ME!

Here is it pre-bake...

I have FINALLY learned from previous disasters, not to overfill the pie... I always have overflow, and it kills my oven (though I was smart this time and put foil down, just in case), but it also makes for a sloppy looking pie...

Not this time!!!

So pretty... the crust browned perfectly, the smell was divine, and pie was just lovely!! I packed it up in my Grandma Bonnie's two pie basket, and headed to the BBQ...